A Note to the Person Who Feels Like a Failure

Dear person who feels like a failure (yes, you).

Do not be so hard on yourself. Failures happen.

When you fall in the mud, do not sit and wallow in it. Pick yourself up, and keep moving forward. Yes, you might be a little dirtier than before, but the stains and scars of your past should not be thought of as evidence of your shortcomings, but rather badges of honor. Proof that you put in the time and got messy. Proof that you’ve played in the game rather than spending your days on the sidelines.

Don’t stay there on the ground counting your loss. Calculate your gains, and recalculate the distance you need to cover.

Make up for lost ground.

That’s what I’m doing today. My goal to write 50,000 words (1,667 words per day) during the month of November was slightly derailed over the weekend. I am now 4,351 words behind schedule. But I’m not throwing in the towel. I’m not going to set myself a new goal that is lower than the first. Nope. I’m recalculating my daily word goal, and I’m getting back in the game.

Whatever your goals are, whatever shortcomings or failures you’ve experienced, it is never too late to pick up where you left off.

Don’t start over. Start where you are.

Don’t wait until tomorrow. Start right now.

Dear person who feels like a failure, I am commissioning you to no longer drown in the ocean of defeat. Your success starts right now. I mean it. RIGHT NOW.